


Aftermath

by Kharon



Series: Red [7]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Future Fic, Gen, Next Generation, Uchiha, Uchiha Clan-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-17
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-12-30 23:42:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12119841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kharon/pseuds/Kharon
Summary: It's almost midday by the time Sasori slinks back into the Uchiha compound.





	Aftermath

It's almost midday by the time Sasori slinks back into the Uchiha compound.

The streets are deserted, with every available member of the police force on duty inside the village proper. Nobody thinks that the Uchiha are in any imminent danger after all, so the safety of the general population takes priority over patrolling this empty quarter at the far end of the village.

He takes his sandals off at the entrance – Karin's threat of dismemberment should he forget _one more time_ still fresh in his mind – and strolls into the kitchen. Akane left on a mission two days ago to avoid any unwanted suspicion, Karin took the children to the market today and Tsuzumi is the worst cook he has ever seen, so Akashi expects the room to be empty. He is wrong.

Kichiro is sitting at the table, a nectarine in one hand and the other closed around a mug of coffee that smells delicious.

Dark eyes scrutinize him behind a mob of shaggy red hair, but the Uchiha doesn't say a word. Instead he points to the coffee pot on the stove, and Akashi is fast to pour himself a cup and sit down at the opposite side of the table.

"It's done," he declares when he can't stand the other man's stare any longer. Those pitch-black eyes unnerve him more than he likes to admit.

The Uchiha nods. His face is completely closed off, the hand around his mug clenched a little too tight. Sasori wonders what it means.

"A clan meeting has been scheduled for noon," Kichiro finally says, "Nothing has been made public yet, but not all of the Hokage's guards have kept silent, and too many people saw ANBU running around the village. There's talk of an intruder already."

"I see. I tried to plant as many false leads as I could, but I don't know how long they'll keep them busy. Furthest one goes directly south."

Another stoic nod. He remembers Kizuna's sadness when he told him that Inuzuka Arai had to die. Kichiro is a lot more composed than is brother, but he can't tell if the underlying emotion he is suppressing is the same or an entirely different one.

"You knew her," he tells the Uchiha, still unsure about what kind of relationship the brothers had with the Hachidaime.

"Yes," Kichiro answers, the question apparently snapping him out of his serene state. His eyes widen a little as if in surprise, and he takes a sip of his coffee, now holding the mug with both hands.

"Kizuna was dating her when we were teenagers. She didn't like me much, and was very vocal about it in the end. They broke up after about a year."

There is defiance in his gaze when their eyes meet again, as though the Uchiha expects him to react badly to his statement. Akashi however is too stunned to bother with a reply. Kizuna and Arai… the picture of them together comes easily enough to his mind, and it's a frightening one. He thinks of Akane and wonders what Kizuna's kids would have been like if they'd had her for a mother. _Powerhouses_ , a voice whispers in his head.

When he remains silent some of the tension eases off of Kichiro's frame. He seems lost, sitting there alone and staring into his mug with a far-away look in his eyes.

Akashi get's up quietly and puts his empty cup into the sink.

"Thanks for the coffee, best brand I ever had," he says in parting, but obviously it's the wrong thing to say because it makes the other man inhale sharply.

He turns around in the doorframe to look at Kichiro, but the Uchiha has his head lowered, both hands now covering his face. His whole body is shaking. Akashi takes one hesitant step back into the room, pauses, not knowing how to react, and then does what he always does when confronted with another's sorrow – he turns tail and runs.

The air outside gives him no relief however. It's humid and heavy, as he has been told is typical for summers in Konohagakure.

Trying to get as far away from Kichiro as possible he wanders the extensive gardens behind the estate, roaming around ponds and bushes, little fountains and a wonderfully designed rock garden until he has reached the backside of the building.

Without thinking he closes in on the private training ground of the Uchiha.

The murmur of voices and sound of feet moving on gravel takes him by surprise, since the only people he has seen there so far were Akane, Kizuna and Sakae, none of which is home at the moment.

It's Tsuzumi, engaged in a taijustu spar with a teenager that is without a doubt her son. The boy's coloring is typical Uchiha, but his face has the same angles as his mother's.

They halt in their sparring when he comes out from behind a few blooming cheery trees.

Two sets of dark eyes give him a once-over, and it's only then that he remembers that Kizuna's wife has only ever seen him in Konoha-style clothes and with dyed hair.

"You aren't uncle Kesa's brother," the boy says, frowning, "Masamune won't like this."

"Who is Kesa?" he shoots back somewhat confused. None of the older Uchiha ever told that he has a cover story, much less instruct him in what it actually entails.

Contrary to the Nara-girl, the boy has the good sense to look to his mother for confirmation instead of running his mouth without thought. She, in turn, just runs her hand through her hair in frustration.

"Seito, get us some water, will you please?"

He mumbles something unintelligible under his breath, but is gone in a _shunshin_ an instant later – so young but still with flawless technique, no trace of chakra left behind. Akashi wonders if that control comes from the Uzumaki heritage or if it's something carried over from Tsuzumi's side of the family.

"Sit, please," she tells him briskly, pointing to a bench that stands to the side under an old maple tree.

They sit down beside each other, half covered by the shade of the maple. It's a beautiful tree, the leafs having turned a bright greenish red already.

"So you passed me off to the kids as a relative?" he asks, before pointing at his now-again red hair, "I don't exactly look like we're related, even with the brown dye."

Tsuzumi shakes her head in agreement, but there is a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips from the incredulous tone of his voice.

"No, you certainly don't," she agrees, "Kesaharu was a minor lord from Kusagakure. He and Kichiro… they were close. Kesa was pushing change in his domain, it made him very popular with the common people. He was killed in the coup four months ago."

The picture of Kichiro sitting there at the table, shaking with grief, comes to his mind immediately. _The coffee_. It was a Kusa brand then, one of the few produced in the country.

Akashi remembers the pain when his father died, the all-encompassing _hurt_ that came with it. His mother's pain, his sister's… he thinks of Akaya dying and it makes his blood go cold as ice. He clenches his fists, fighting the numbness, the terror that renders him immobile. No, she's his little sister, he can't-

A strong hand on his shoulder snaps him back to reality.

Seito is standing in front of them with two water bottles, his black hair now wet and pulled back into a small pony tail. The hand on his shoulder is Tsuzumi's, concern shining in her dark eyes when their eyes meet.

"You should rest, Akashi," she tells him.

Akashi wants to agree, wants to lie down and flee into dreamland, but he knows his own mind well enough to know that the only thing he'll find today will be nightmares – of Arai's lifeless face, of Kichiro clenching his coffee mug and crying, of standing beside the hospital bed and looking at his father's dead body.

"Maybe later," he mumbles and brushes her hand off his shoulder, "If they realize that I went back inside the village I'll have to leave immediately."

Tsuzumi frowns but accepts his answer. Her son however looks both uncertain and miffed at the same time, obviously confused by what they are talking about.

"Mom, why is Sasori of the Sand sitting in our garden?" his voice is sharp and the boy doesn't take his eyes off Sasori, "You told Masamune that he was Kesaharu's brother. If word about this gets out to the Hokage…"

He leaves the sentence unfinished.

It's their nonexistent reaction that sets him off. Too much brains in those Uchiha kids to fool them if they're really hunting for an answer.

Sasori interrupts him before he can go any further. The cat is out of the bag now anyway.

"You said it yourself boy, I'm Sasori of the Sand. You _know_ what I do," he says, too tired to drag this out, "Your Hokage is dead."

The young man looks at him, pensive. He too has more of Kichiro in him than of his actual father.

"Good," Seito finally says, "Now I get why my sister likes you."

**Author's Note:**

> More about the Uchiha this time; more motives, more characters, more background. Also a little delve into Akashi's mind, because... well, beneath everything he's even more broken than most of the other characters (and this is his story after all). The next chapter will focus on him again.
> 
> On a side note I'd like to say that I have way too much fun with the names of the Uchiha.


End file.
